Magyar Egyház, 1971 (50. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1971-01-01 / 1. szám
12 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ “THE BLUISH BALL” I am not ashamed to admit that I was as excited as anyone else when it became a possibility for the earthly man to place his feet on the moon. Secretly, I had asked God to let me see the day when a man will land on the moon and will come back and tell us about it. My prayer was granted. But, to my greatest surprise, it was not the moon brought before my eyes on the television’s screen that fascinated me the most, but the earth ... as the astronauts saw it in space and as we saw it through their eyes. There was our earth, a beautiful bluish ball in the dark vastness of the universe! A bluish ball. The Creator put it there. And He put us on this ball. You and I, the Hungarians, the Africans, the Eskimoes, all human beings are on this earth-ball. This earth is our home. We were born here, we live here for a while and we will be buried in this earth. The Father of all mankind, no doubt, views us as a family of his children. But what a family! As God’s children, naturally we are brothers and sisters. But what kind of brothers and sisters! We are totally divided. Many of us are carried away by entirely illogical, foolish ideas. Some think that this earth is their possession. They and their folowers fanatically believe that the Creator gave the lives of other human beings into their hands and they are supposed to tell others how to live, what to think . . . and if their brothers and sisters are not willing to accept their rule, they ruthlessly persecute or kill them. Other members of the human family are hypnotized into seeking their self-glory. Against the cold fact that their days are numbered, they sacrifice everything - - - decency, honesty to become great, famous. They seem to forget that after a short while they will fall into their graves and no one will remember them. They are not able to understand the words of Christ: “He who wants to be the first among you, let him be the servant of all.” God, the Creator, looks upon this bluish ball, earth, and he sees the human family as a “mad house”. But should all of us, without exception, be “mad” human beings? Should all of us accept and practice the false idea that the real fulfillment of our human life is to get powerful and famous at any cost? Should we resign to the saying that the worst enemy of man is man? I don’t think we should. Is there anyone who could forbid you to regard and love all human beings on this bluish ball, earth as your brothers and sisters? Can anyone stop you from spending your whole earthly life in serving others? Is there anyone who can deny you the right to “take up your cross and follow Jesus”? Can anyone take away your faith to your Lord Jesus, you will experience the fullness of your life and you will finish your earthly journey victoriously? At the beginning of this new year visualize again our earth as the beautiful bluish ball in the universe and be brave to live up to the lesson of this vision: be a loving brother and sister in the family of men, under the fatherhood of God. Stephen Kovács CURRENT EVENTS CURRENT EVENTS Public School Religion Class MONTCLAIR, N. J. — Clergy launched an elective course on religion at the public high school here, believed to be the first religion course offered in a public school since the U.S. Supreme Court decision of 1963, which banned Bible reading or recitation of prayers “prescribed as part of the curricular activities,” but left the door open for an “objective” course in religion. The pilot course here was described by clergymen as designed to probe “deep human concerns” voiced by the students. Heart Healthier For Worshippers Dr. George W. Comstock, a medical researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, says the incidence of fatal heart disease among infrequent churchgoers is twice as high as for men who attend church at least once a week. Reporting his findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association, he says he examined the records of more than 500 men aged 45 to 64 in Washington County, Md., between 1963 and 1966, and found the churchgoingheart disease correlation. Generation Gap? We are accused of being separated from our students today by a generation gap. This gap is blamed for the present student unrest and violence. Too often this gap is widened within the halls of education. Some teachers and professors have neglected to teach morality and responsibility as educational material. The right of dissent is taught without reference to upholding the law. Some students demand freedoms without restraint and responsibility and take to the streets to seek these unrestrained freedoms. Churches, at times, have aided the attitude of freedom now, without reference to law and order. An article on student turmoil in the U. S. News and World Report said this: “A commission of the National Council of Churches condoned student violence in the belief that God is in some way present in the midst of these movements and we would be prepared to see in them his creating a new order.” Let reverance for the laws be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls and enforced in courts of justice.
